I have been an active professional astronomer since earning my doctorate in 1975. I have published a respectable number of scientific papers in most of the right journals (including our favorites, Science and Nature), have been Principal Investigator on several NASA studies, have served as referee and proposal reviewer for NASA and NSF, belong to half a dozen professional societies, have chaired international conferences, i.e. I've engaged by and large successfully in all the usual activities of a busy professional scientist. For those of you who want the full details, click here for my CV.

During my career I have had the responsibility and privilege as an editor of accepting or rejecting somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand articles in a prestigious astrophysics journal. This does not conclusively prove, but certainly indicates, that I recognize good science when I see it. I have also had the responsibility of accepting or rejecting papers on the UFO phenomenon in a quite different refereed journal, the Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE). For 12 years I served as editor of JSE (as an unpaid public service) because I believe that examining evidence that may challenge prevailing scientific dogma is good for science and a necessary part of searching for the truth. The road of discovery may have 99 deadends in the thicket for every new path winding its way up the peak, but that is just how it is. Curiosity and tenacity are equal prerequisites for a scientist... as is an open mind.

I have learned quite a bit about the UFO phenomenon over the years (certainly more than I had bargained for) and have met many of the leading figures, some credible, some deluded.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
International Astronomical Union
American Astronomical Society
Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society
European Astronomical Society
Assoc. Fellow, American Inst. of Aeronautics & Astronautics

OTHER SCIENTIFIC AND ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIPS:
Patron, Amer. Assoc. for the Advancement of Science
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
New York Academy of Sciences
American Association of Physics Teachers
Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi

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